v&o 

REPORT 


EXECUTIVE  COMMITTEE 


STUDENT  VOLUNTEER  MOVEMENT 


FOREIGN  MISSIONS. 


PRESENTED  AT 

THE  SECOND  INTERNATIONAL  CONVENTION 


HEI.D  AT 


DETROIT,  MICH. 


February  28  to  March  4,  1 894- 


JOHN 


12  TO  18 


BORNMAN  & 

printers 

LARNED  ST. 

DETROIT 


SON 


EAST 


i 


Report  of  the  Executive  Committee 


OF  THE 


STUDENT  VOLUNTEER  MOVEMENT  FOR  FOREIGN  MISSIONS. 


I.  The  Purpose  It  is  taken  for  granted  by  the  Executive  Committee  that  all 
of  the  Move-  the  members  of  this  Convention  are  familiar  with  the  origin, 
ment.  history  and  progress  of  the  Student  Volunteer  Movement 

down  to  the  time  of  the  First  International  Convention,  held 
at  Cleveland  just  three  years  ago  this  week.  Before  reviewing  its  development 
for  the  last  three  years,  or  considering  its  present  condition,  let  us  fix  clearly 
in  mind  the  main  objects  of  this  Movement.  They  may  be  stated  as  follows: 

1 . To  lead  students  to  a thorough  consideration  of  the  claims  of  foreign 
missions  upon  them  as  a life  work. 

2.  To  foster  this  purpose,  and  to  guide  and  stimulate  such  students  in 
their  missionary  study  and  work  until  they  pass  under  the  immediate  direction 
of  the  missionary  societies. 

3.  To  unite  all  the  volunteers  in  a common,  organized,  aggressive 
movement. 

4.  The  ultimate,  yet  central  purpose,  is  to  secure  a sufficient  number  of 
volunteers,  having  the  right  qualifications,  to  meet  the  demands  of  the  various 
mission  boards — and  even  more,  if  necessary — in  order  to  evangelize  the  world 
in  the  present  generation. 

5.  Essentially  involved  in  all  this,  is  the  further  object  of  the  Move- 
ment— to  create  and  maintain  an  intelligent,  sympathetic,  active  interest  in 
foreign  missions  among  the  students  who  are  to  remain  on  the  home  field,  in 
order  to  secure  the  strong  backing  of  this  great  enterprise  by  prayer  and 
money. 

Such  are  the  positive  objects  of  the  Movement.  It  is  hardly  necessary, 
therefore,  on  the  other  hand,  to  add  that  it  is  not  an  organization  to  send  out 
missionaries.  Its  members  all  go  to  the  fields  through  the  regular  missionary 
societies.  Moreover,  the  Movement  does  not  usurp  the  functions  of  any  other 
missionary  agency ; it  simply  seeks  to  supplement  helpfully  all  existing  mis- 
sionary organizations.  That  such  is  the  case  is  shown  by  the  increasing 
number  of  indorsements  which  the  Movement  has  received  from  those  mis- 
sionary secretaries  and  missionaries  who  are  most  familiar  with  its  work. 


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II.  The  Field  This  is  a student  movement.  The  universities,  colleges, 
and  its  theological  seminaries,  medical  schools,  normal  schools, 

Cultivation,  training  schools — in  short,  all  institutions  of  higher  learning 
in  the  United  States  and  Canada,  constitute  its  field.  It  is 
true  that  individual  volunteers  jire  doing  a great  deal  of  work  in  churches  and 
in  Christian  organizations  among  young  people;  but  the  field  for  the  cultiva- 
tion of  which  the  Movement  holds  itself  in  a special  sense  responsible  is  the 
student  class  of  North  America.  It  alone  among  missionary  agencies  has 
complete  access  to  this  peculiarly  important  class. 

This  Movement  was  made  possible  by  the  preparatory  work  and  influence 
of  the  four  great  student  organizations  of  this  continent,  viz.:  The  Inter- 
collegiate Young  Men’s  Christian  Association,  the  Intercollegiate  Young 
Women’s  Christian  Association,  the  American  Inter-Seminary  Missionary 
Alliance,  and  the  Canadian  Intercollegiate  Missionary  Alliance.  The  Volun-  ? 
teer  Movement  is  an  organic  department  of  these  agencies.  In  this  way  it 
has  a far  more  direct  and  favorable  approach  to  the  great  body  of  students 
than  it  could  possibly  have  in  any  other  way. 

Since  the  Cleveland  Convention  the  field  has  been  cultivated  more  thor- 
oughly than  during  the  early  years  of  the  history  of  the  Movement.  This  has 
been  made  possible  by  multiplying  the  agencies  of  supervision.  The  following 
constitute  the  principal  means  employed  for  the  cultivation  of  the  field  : 

1.  The  Traveling  Secretary.  This  agency  is  the  most  potent  because 
the  Traveling  Secretary  comes  in  personal  contact  with  the  field.  It  has  been 
employed  since  the  inception  of  the  Movement  in  1886.  The  position  is  usu- 
ally held  for  one  year  only,  and  by  some  student  volunteer  who  is  nearly  ready 
to  go  to  the  foreign  field.  Mr.  W.  H.  Cossum,  of  Colgate  University,  con- 
tinued in  the  work  after  the  last  convention  until  the  close  of  that  college 
year,  and  then  sailed  to  China,  where  he  is  doing  a strong  work.  The  year 
following,  Mr.  J.  C.  White,  of  Wooster  University,  held  this  position,  and 
is  now  in  India  opening  up  a promising  work  among  the  fifteen  thousand 
students  at  Calcutta.  Mr.  F.  A.  Keller,  of  Yale,  was  Traveling  Secretary  in 
1893-94.  He  devoted  a part  of  his  time  during  the  same  year  to  office  work. 
He  is  now  completing  his  studies  preparatory  to  entering  the  foreign  field. 
Mr.  D.  W.  Lyon,  of  the  McCormick  Theological  Seminary,  at  present  occupies 
the  important  post  of  Traveling  Secretary. 

2.  The  Corresponding  Secretary  is  also  an  important  factor  in  the  culti- 
vation of  the  field.  By  correspondence  and  special  reports  he  is  able  to 
keep  in  helpful  touch  with  all  the  institutions  having  volunteers.  Mr.  Walter 
J.  Clark,  of  Union  Theological  Seminary,  was  the  first  man  called  to  give  his 
entire  time  to  this  work.  This  marked  one  of  the  advanced  steps  made  possi- 
ble by  the  Cleveland  Convention.  Mr.  Clark  filled  the  position  over  a year,  and 
then  went  to  India,  where  he  is  already  carrying  on  a successful  work.  During 
the  few  months  which  Mr.  Keller  succeeded  him  he  introduced  a number  of 
advanced  features  suggested  by  his  study  of  the  Movement  in  the  colleges. 
Mr.  J.  W.  Angell,  of  Wooster  University,  rendered  special  and  helpful 


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assistance  for  a few  months.  Mr.  H.  B.  Sharman,  of  Toronto  University,  has 
been  Corresponding  Secretary  since  last  summer,  and  has  brought  the  office 
department  to  an  even  higher  state  of  efficiency. 

3.  Corresponding  Members  and  other  special  visitors  have  rendered 
exceedingly  valuable  service  by  visiting  colleges  or  representing  the  Move- 
ment at  conventions.  It  will  be  impossible  even  to  summarize  all  of  this 
work,  as  it  has  not  all  been  reported.  The  list,  however,  should  include 
among  others  the  following : Miss  Eloise  Mayliam,  who  made  a 
tour  among  the  women  of  a number  of  colleges  of  the  North ; Mr.  James 
Edward  Adams,  who  made  a special  tour  among  the  colleges  of  Iowa  and 
Indiana;  Messrs.  Horace  Tracy  Pitkin,  Sherwood  Eddy,  and  Henry  Luce,  4 
who  have  carried  on  a thorough  and  extensive  visitation  among  the  institu- 
tions of  New  England,  New  York  and  New  Jersey;  Messrs.  Lyon,  Tomlinson, 
Mitchell  and  Kennedy  in  Illinois;  Mr.  Binkliorst  in  Michigan;  Mr.  Hotton  in 
Wisconsin;  Mr.  Marshall  in  Nebraska;  Mr.  Strong  in  Kansas;  Mr.  Hill  in 
Kentucky;  Dr.  Drew  in  Virginia;  Mr.  Kinsinger  in  Ohio;  and  Mr.  Moore  in 
Pennsylvania. 

4.  Secretaries  in  connection  with  the  college  department  of  the  Young 
Men’s  and  Young  Women’s  Christian  Associations — international,  state,  and 
metropolitan — have  given  a great  deal  of  time  (in  the  aggregate  more  than  any  A 
other  agency)  and  thought  to  the  planting  and  developing  of  this  movement. 

5.  The  monthly  organ  of  the  movement — The  Student  Volunteer — although 
only  recently  entering  upon  its  second  year,  has  become  one  of  the  most  use- 
ful agencies  employed  by  the  Committee  to  keep  in  touch  with  the  volunteers, 
and  to  keep  the  aims  and  methods  and  results  of  the  Movement  before  the 
Church.  The  first  suggestion  of  such  a paper  came  from  a minister  in  Cleve- 
land who  attended  the  sessions  of  the  Convention;  but  it  is  due  to  Mr.  Keller 
that  the  idea  was  carried  into  execution. 

6.  In  connection  with  the  college  students’  summer  conferences  during 
the  last  two  years,  there  has  been  developed  another  plan  for  promoting  a more 
thorough  cultivation  of  the  field.  Missionary  institutes  designed  to  train  vol- 
unteers for  the  leadership  of  the  missionary  interests  of  their  respective  institu- 
tions have  been  held.  By  this  plan  men,  who  are  authorities  on  the  most 
approved  methods  of  developing  missionary  interest,  have  been  scattered 
abroad  over  the  college  field. 

7.  The  International  Conventions  of  the  Movement,  though  very  infre- 
quent, are  destined,  if  we  may  judge  at  all  by  the  influence  of  the  Cleveland 
Convention,  to  do  incalculable  good  not  only  in  establishing  the  Movement  in 
institutions  of  learning,  but  also  in  defining  its  relation  to  the  various  mission- 
ary activities  of  the  Church. 

Although  some  of  the  most  difficult  problems  which  con- 
III.  Problems.  fronted  the  Movement  three  years  ago  have  been  solved,  we 
are  brought  face  to  face  with  a few  which  remain.  These  can 
also  be  solved  if  the  delegates  of  this  Convention  set  themselves  resolutely  and 
prayerfully  to  the  task. 


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1.  A close  and  constant  supervision  of  all  the  volunteer  hands  of  the 
United  States  and  Canada  is  absolutely  essential  if  this  Movement  is  to  be  a per- 
manent, a growing,  and  a fruitful  one.  Over  the  larger  part  of  the  field  which 
has  been  entered,  such  supervision  has  not  been  maintained.  This  is  due  to  the 
fact  that  the  supervising  force  has  not  been  large  enough  to  cover  the  entire 
field  in  any  given  year.  Such  supervision  is  rendered  necessary  by  the  con- 
stantly and  rapidly  shifting  character  of  the  student  population  of  our  institu- 
tions. As  a result  of  our  inability  to  cultivate  the  whole  field  each  year,  it  has 
been  necessary  to  work  one  year  in  one  section  and  the  next  year  in  another. 
In  some  cases  we  have  been  obliged  to  leave  whole  groups  of  colleges  for  as 
long  as  three  years  without  a visit.  The  natural  result  must  necessarily  be 
disastrous. 

2.  Closely  akin  to  the  problem  of  securing  a more  thorough  supervision 
of  the  bands  is  that  of  keeping  in  closer  touch  with  isolated  volunteers,  and 
helping  to  maintain  and  increase  their  interest.  This  includes  that  large  class 
of  volunteers  who  are  obliged  to  stay  out  of  college  or  seminary  for  months 
or  years  at  a time,  for  financial,  or  other  reasons.  Cut  off  from  the 
volunteer  band  and  the  missionary  library,  and  surrounded  often  by  influences 
which  are  calculated  to  deaden  his  interest  in  missions,  the  volunteer  is  in 
great  danger  of  having  his  missionary  purpose  weakened  and  diverted. 

3.  Another  problem  confronts  us  in  some  quarters,  and  that  is  the  diffi- 
culty of  holding  volunteers  after  they  enter  the  theological  seminaries.  If 
they  leave  college  with  a strong  purpose  and  are  thoroughly  grounded  in 
missions,  the  question  of  holding  them  does  not  present  insuperable  difficulties. 
But  even  in  such  cases  it  is  a real  problem  to  preserve  the  faith  and  enthusiasm 
of  volunteers  who  enter  institutions  where,  to  quote  a prominent  Board 
Secretary,  “ from  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  the  course  the  whole  presumption 
in  the  teaching  and  attitude  of  the  faculty  is  that  the  men  are  all  going  to  stay 
at  home.”  Add  to  this  the  constant  pressure  brought  to  bear  upon  them  by 
home  churches,  and  the  solution  of  the  problem  is  not  simplified.  In  medical 
schools  the  difficulty  is  indeed  more  serious  owing  to  the  crush  of  work,  their 
absence  of  missionary,  and  often  even  of  religious  spirit,  and  a lack  of  strong 
Christian  student  organizations. 

4.  How  to  bring  the  volunteers  into  closer  touch  with  the  missionary 
societies  is  another  unsolved  question.  That  there  has  been  an  increase  in 
applications  to  the  societies  during  the  last  few  years,  taking  them  as  a whole, 
is  very  clear.  The  increase  has  been  marked  in  the  case  of  some  denomina- 
tions, and  yet  it  is  by  no  means  what  it  should  be  when  we  consider  the 
number  of  volunteers.  The  responsibility  of  the  Movement  does  not  cease 
until  the  volunteers  are  brought  into  direct  communication  with  their  respec- 
tive Boards.  Nor  does  it  cease  entirely  then.  This  suggests  yet  another 
difficulty. 

5.  The  financial  obstacle  is  to-day  one  of  the  greatest  in  the  pathway  of 
many  volunteers.  Within  the  last  few  weeks  several  missionary  societies 
have  indicated  to  us  that  they  have  more  men  who  want  to  go  abroad  than 


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they  have  money  with  which  to  send  them.  There  are,  it  is  true,  other  boards 
which  are  in  greater  need  of  men  than  of  money.  Then,  again,  we  have 
heard  that  there  are  at  least  one  or  two  boards,  which,  while  they  have  no  sur- 
plus of  money,  yet  state  that  they  will  let  the  financial  barrier  stand  in  the 
way  of  no  suitable  candidates  who  are  anxious  to  go.  But  even  where  the 
financial  problem  is  the  thing  which  prevents  volunteers  hastening  to  the 
fields,  the  Movement  cannot  free  itself  entirely  from  responsibility.  It  is  our 
duty  as  volunteers  to  co-opcrate  with  the  missionary  boards  in  every  way 
within  our  power  in  a determined  effort  to  remove  this  hindrance. 

It  has  been  our  purpose  in  this  connection  simply  to  state  the  most  serious 
problems  that  stand  before  the  Movement.  Our  object  has  been  to  stimulaie 
thought  among  the  delegates  of  this  Convention  who,  we  repeat,  are  in  a 
position  to  do  more  towards  solving  them  than  any  others  can  possibly  do. 
Further  on  we  shall  indicate  some  lines  of  policy  which,  properly  carried  out, 
will  greatly  hasten  their  solution. 

There  are  perils  as  well  as  problems  attending  the  advance 
IV.  Perils.  of  the  Student  Volunteer  Movement.  This  is  true  of  every 

organization  which  is  new,  aggressive  and  full  of  life.  These 
perils  should  be  clearly  apprehended,  and  a united  effort  made  by  the  volun- 
teers to  guard  against  them. 

In  the  beginning,  notice  the  perils  with  reference  to  the  volunteer  declara- 
tion. (1).  First  among  them  is  the  peril  due  to  misunderstanding  the  mean- 
ing of  the  volunteer  declaration.  For  several  years  what  now'  corresponds  to 
the  declaration  was  known  as  the  volunteer  pledge.  It  read:  “ I am  willing 
and  desirous,  God  permitting,  to  become  a foreign  missionary.”  The  first 
traveling  secretaries  who  used  the  so-called  pledge  interpreted  its  meaning  in 
these  words:  “ I am  fully  determined  to  become  a foreign  missionary,  unless 
God  blocks  the  way.”  All  the  other  regular  secretaries  who  subsequently 
employed  it  interpreted  it  in  the  same  way.  Notwithstanding  the  clear  inter- 
pretation of  the  official  representatives  of  the  Movement,  some  others  who 
used  it  unofficially  gave  it  a different  meaning.  Moreover,  some  who  heard  it 
rightly  interpreted  were  still  confused  by  its  statement.  After  the  Cleveland 
Convention,  the  Executive  Committee,  for  a full  year,  carried  on  through 
its  members  and  the  traveling  secretary  an  examination  in  all  parts  of  the 
field.  As  a result  they  reached  the  conclusion  that  the  wording  of  the 
original  so-called  pledge  could  be  changed  to  great  advantage. 
Accordingly,  the  members  of  the  Executive  Committees  of  the  Student 
Volunteer  Movement  for  Foreign  Missions,  and  of  the  newly  organized 
Student  Volunteer  Missionary  Union  of  Great  Britain,  met  at  North  - 
field  in  the  summer  of  1892,  and,  after  exhaustive  discussion,  unanimously 
agreed  to  change  the  wording  from  “ I am  willing  and  desirous,  God  permit- 
ting, to  become  a foreign  missionary,”  to  “ It  is  my  purpose , if  God  permit , to 
become  a foreign  missionary Moreover,  they  decided  to  abandon  the  use  of 
the  expression  volunteer  pledge,  and  adopted  in  its  place  the  expression  volun- 


teet  declaration.  This  Change  was  made  because  the  phrase  “ If  God  permit  ” 
renders  it  impossible  to  characterize  the  declaration  as  a pledge  according  to 
the  common  and  accurate  use  of  the  word  pledge.  A man  who  signs  the  vol- 
unteer declaration  signifies  by  the  act  that  with  the  light  that  he  then  has  he 
forms  the  definite  and  clear-cut  decision  that  he  will  he  a foreign  missionary. 
To  this  end,  he  turns  his  face  in  that  direction  He  not  only  decides,  and 
turns  his  face,  but  he  begins  to  adapt  his  course  of  study  and  special  outside 
work  to  his  newly  chosen  life  work.  He  not  only  begins  to  do  this,  but  he 
continues  steadfastly  in  that  direction.  At  the  proper  time,  he  applies  to  the 
missionary  agency  under  which  he  desires  to  go  to  the  field.  This  is  stating 
the  man  side  exclusively.  It  is  working  out  these  words  of  the  declaration: 
“It  is  my  purpose  to  be  a foreign  missionary.”  But  there  is  another  side' 
which  is  involved  in  the  words  “ If  God  permit.”  This  phrase  precludes  the 
volunteer’s  taking  his  life  into  his  own  control.  He  is  still  under  the  direction 
of  God;  for  he  will  not  become  a foreign  missionary  unless  God  permits.  The 
Holy  Spirit  may  delay  him,  may  turn  him  one  side,  may  temporarily,  or  even 
permanently,  block  his  way.  While  it  may  be  true  that  some  volunteers  have 
abandoned  their  original  purpose  for  other  than  providential  reasons,  it  is 
obviously  wrong  to  subject  volunteers  who  have  been  providentially  kept  from 
going  to  the  field,  to  the  charge  of  having  broken  a vow.  Is  it  not  simply 
maintaining  that  when  a man  signs  the  volunteer  declaration  he  cannot  expect 
any  further  leadings  of  the  Holy  Spirit  concerning  his  life  work?  It  is  im- 
possible to  read  any  such  meaning  into  the  volunteer’ declaration.  Let  us 
guard  therefore,  against  the  peril  of  having  the  declaration  misunderstood.  It 
is  not,  on  the  one  hand,  simply  an  expression  of  willingness  to  go  anywhere  for 
Christ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  it  is  not  an  iron-clad  pledge  or  vow  to  go  to 
the  foreign  field  whether  God  wants  us  there  or  not.  It  means  what  it  says, 
“It  is  my  purpose,  if  God  permit,  to  become  a foreign  missionary.”  I begin 
and  continue  steadfastly  to  carry  out  that  purpose  formed  in  His  presence  and 
for  His  glory.  If  by  walking  in  this  path  of  duty  the  Holy  Spirit  leads  me 
unmistakably  into  another  path  I shall  leave  the  present  one — and  not  till  then. 

(2).  The  second  peril  in  connection  with  the  volunteer  declaration  comes 
from  the  wrong  use  of  it.  We  must  guard  against  its  use  by  men  who  misun- 
derstand it,  or  who  cannot  make  its  meaning  clear.  We  must  guard  against 
its  being  used  with  those  who  for  one  reason  or  another  are  not  in  a position  to 
understand  its  full  significance,  or  are  obviously  unfitted  for  foreign  service. 
We  must  guard  against  its  being  used  at  the  wrong  time,  in  the  wrong  place, 
or  under  wrong  circumstances.  All  experience  in  connection  with  this  Move- 
ment shows  that  the  declaration  should  be  used  only  under  the  manifest  guid- 
ance of  the  Spirit. 

Before  leaving  this  matter  of  the  declaration  the  Committee  wish  to  record 
once  more  their  firm  belief  in  it.  The  fact  that  it  has  been  misunderstood  at 
times,  or  that  it  has  been  wrongly  used,  does  not  shake  their  confidence  in  it; 
for  the  fact  still  remains  true  that  without  it  there  could  have  been  no  Move- 
ment. Beyond  this,  the  Committee  believe  in  the  declaration  because  it  leads 


9 


men  to  make  a definite  decision;  because  it  helps  to  hold  men  who  have 
decided;  because  it  puts  a man  in  a position  to  do  more  for  missions  while  he 
is  securing  his  preparation  than  he  possibly  would  or  could  do  otherwise; 
because  it  puts  a deep  central  purpose  into  his  life  which  means  greater  power; 
and  because  it  is  the  testimony  of  secretaries  and  missionaries  that  men  who 
by  this  means  were  led  to  reach  their  decision  early  are,  as  a rule,  more  settled 
in  their  convictions,  and  better  prepared  when  the  time  comes,  to  go  abroad 
than  the  men  who  do  not  decide  until  about  the  close  of  their  professional 
course  of  study. 

2.  There  is  also  a peril  in  connection  with  the  number  of  volunteers. 
The  number  of  students  who  have  volunteered  at  one  time  and  another  is 
indeed  remarkably  large.  This  fact  has  often  led  members  of  the  Movement 
to  boast,  and  to  depend  more  upon  the  numbers  than  upon  the  Holy  Spirit’s 
power.  This  peril  has  been  aggravated  by  an  unwise  and  misleading  use  of 
the  numbers.  Unconsciously,  our  friends  have  been  our  worst  enemies  in  this 
respect.  How  many  noted  speakers  and  editors  have  stated  time  after  time 
that  there  are  five,  six,  or  seven  thousand  men  and  women  in  this  Movement 
who  are  ready  to  go  to  the  field  at  once  if  the  Church  could  send  them?  This 
is  not  true.  While  there  may  have  been  many  thousands  who  have  signed 
the  declaration,  the  Executive  Committee  has  within  the  last  year  decided  not 
to  count  as  members  of  the  Movement  those  of  whom  it  has  and  can  obtain  no 
trace.  The  Committee  has  been  unable  to  get  accurate  record  of  more  than 
3200  volunteers.  The  large  untraced  contingent  comprises  chiefly  those  who 
volunteered  within  the  first  two  years  and  a half  of  the  life  of  the  Move- 
ment, during  which  period  it  was  not  organized  and  had  no  oversight  Quite 
a number  have  been  lost  trace  of  since  in  sections  or  colleges  which  have  had 
little  or  no  supervision  and  band  organization.  Moreover,  it  must  still  be  kept  in 
mind  that  a majority  of  the  volunteers  of  whom  the  Movement  has  record  have 
not  completed  their  course  of  study.  A recent  investigation  has  made  this  very 
plain.  To  avoid  creating  further  misunderstanding  it  is  earnestly  recommended 
that  all  friends  of  the  Movement  in  their  statements  concerning  it  dwell  not  so 
much  on  the  numbers  who  have  taken  the  initial  step  (unless  it  be  made 
very  clear  what  those  numbers  mean)  as  upon  those  facts  which  show  the  fruit- 
age made  possible  by  those  who  have  made  the  decision.  In  saying  this  the 
Committee  would  not  give  a discouraging  impression.  True,  there  has  been  a 
shrinkage  in  the  number  who  have  volunteered,  but  it  is  due  not  to  the  princi- 
ples and  methods  of  the  Movement,  but  to  a lack  of  clear  emphasis  of  those 
principles,  and  to  a failure  to  employ  those  methods ; and  this  is  due  in  turn 
to  inadequate  supervision,  and  also  to  the  fact  stated  before,  that  the  Movement 
was  not  organized  for  nearly  three  years.  There  has  been  very  little  shrinkage 
indeed  among  the  men  enrolled  during  the  last  few  years,— much  less,  in  fact, 
than  might  be  reasonably  expected.  But  after  all,  the  greatest  cause  for  grat- 
itude in  connection  with  such  a Movement  is  not  so  much  the  fact  that  so  many 
have  enrolled,  as  the  facts  showing  what  those  who  have  volunteered  have 


10 


achieved  under  the  Spirit  in  their  colleges,  in  the  home  churches,  and  on  the 
foreign  field. 

3.  Some  members  of  the  Movement  have  been  providentially  prevented 
from  going  to  the  foreign  field,  it  may  be  temporarily,  or  it  may  be  perma- 
nently. These  have  often  been  characterized  as  hindered  volunteers.  There 
is  a decided  peril  with  reference  to  this  class.  The  volunteer  who  considers 
himself  hindered  should  be  very  sure  that  he  has  been  hindered  by  the  Holy 
Spirit,  and  not  by  friends,  or  self,  or  sin,  or  satan.  It  is  not  an  easy  gauntlet 
that  the  volunteer  must  run  in  order  to  get  away  from  a land  where  he  is 
needed  into  the  one  where  he  is  needed  most.  Let  no  volunteer  mistake  the 
logical  results  of  ignorance  and  indolence  for  the  staying  hand  of  God’s  Spirit. 
We  mean  simply  this — that  it  is  a comparatively  easy  matter  for  a man  to 
regard  himself  providentially  hindered  if  he  does  not  keep  adding  fuel  to  the 
missionary  flame.  In  this  connection  the  question  is  now  and  then  asked: 
Why  has  such  a volunteer  abandoned  his  purpose  to  be  a missionary?  A 
number  of  such  persons  have  been  interviewed.  In  some  cases  the  way  had 
been  obviously  blocked  by  God.  In  all  other  cases  the  giving  up  of  the  mis- 
sionary purpose  could  be  traced  directly  to  neglect  on  the  part  of  the 
volunteers  to  study  missions,  to  pray  for  missions,  and  to  work  for  missions. 
To  any  volunteer,  then,  who  may  consider  himself  hindered,  we  would  say: 
Be  very  careful  not  to  miss  God’s  plan.  Test  your  sincerity  most  thoroughly. 
Keep  the  missionary  fires  burning  by  every  possible  means.  In  addition  to 
this,  apply  to  a missionary  society.  The  examinations  are  very  thorough. 
Counsel  with  the  secretaries  about  personal  difficulties  and  doubts.  They  will 
not  let  you  make  a mistake.  If  after  applying  these  and  other  tests  the  volun- 
teer is  led  to  see  that  he  is  for  the  time  being  hindered,  let  him  not  be 
depressed.  Rather  than  lose  his  interest  in  the  Movement  let  him  redouble 
his  efforts  and  devote  his  life  on  the  home  field  to  backing  up  this  mighty 
missionary  enterprise  as  singly  and  earnestly  as  he  would  have  done  had  he 
been  privileged  to  hasten  to  the  front.  Above  all,  let  hiin  never  wholly 
abandon  the  hope  of  having  the  way  opened  some  day  to  preach  the  gospel 
where  Christ  has  not  been  named. 

4.  A fourth  peril  is  seen  in  the  tendency  in  some  places  to  form  a breach 
between  the  students  who  are  volunteers  and  those  who  are  not.  In  a majority 
of  such  cases  the  volunteers  have  been  chiefly  responsible.  This  peril  has 
already  manifested  itself  in  connection  with  the  Movement  in  Great  Britain; 
and  we  can  do  no  better  than  to  quote  from  the  last  report  of  their  Executive 
the  following  recommendation.  “That  whilst  the  zeal  of  volunteers  be  encour- 
aged, care  be  taken  that  no  tone  of  superiority  be  assumed  over  those  who 
are  not  volunteers.”  The  men  who  consider  it  their  duty  to  spend  their  lives 
on  the  home  fields  have  as  much  responsibility  resting  upon  them  for  the 
world’s  evangelization  as  those  who  go  abroad.  If  the  message  about  Jesus 
Christ  is  to  be  taken  all  over  the  earth  in  our  lifetime,  it  is  absolutely 
imperative  that  the  entire  body  of  Christian  students  of  this  generation  see 
eye  to  eye  and  work  as  one  mind.  IJnited  we  stand  and  succeed,  divided  we 
fall  and  fail. 


It  is  right  that  record  be  made  of  what  the  Spirit  hath 
V.  Results.  wrought  both  in  and  through  the  Movement.  Among  a 
multitude  of  definite  things  which  have  been  accomplished, 
brief  reference  is  made  to  the  following  : — 

1.  Since  the  Cleveland  Convention  the  Movement  has  been  extended  to 
the  colleges  of  the  Pacific  Coast  and  of  parts  of  the  Southern  States ; also  to 
some  new  colleges  of  Canada.  Up  to  the  present  time  we  have  record  of  477 
different  institutions  in  which  volunteers  have  been  enrolled.  It  is  safe  to 
state  that  this  Movement  has  entered  more  institutions  than  any  other  student 
organization. 

2.  Not  only  has  the  Movement  entered  the  colleges  and  professional 
schools,  but  in  them  it  has  exerted  a remarkable  influence.  Unquestionably  it 
has  deepened  the  spiritual  life  of  the  institutions.  Those  who  have  traveled 
most  among  students  bear  testimony  that  the  most  spiritual  colleges  they  visit 
are  those  which  have  been  most  intimately  touched  by  this  Movement.  But 
the  most  distinctive  influence  has  naturally  been  on  missionary  lines.  In 
hundreds  of  institutions  the  Movement  has  reiterated  the  last  command  of 
Christ;  it  has  vividly  set  forth  the  awful  need  of  the  world,  and  proclaimed  with 
conviction  the  responsibility  resting  upon  this  generation  of  students  for  the 
evangelization  of  the  world.  The  words  “missionary”  and  “missions” 
"mean  something  entirely  different  to  the  student  mind  from  what  they  meaut 
eight  years  ago,  even  in  a majority  of  the  denominational  colleges  and  divinity 
schools  of  the  United  States  and  Canada.  Narrow  and  contracted  ideas  are  fast 
giving  way  to  new  and  enlarged  conceptions  of  the  grandeur,  the  transcendent 
possibilities,  and  the  divinity  of  this  greatest  work  which  confronts  the 
Church  of  God.  Through  the  influence  of  this  Movement,  the  missionary 
department  of  the  College  Young  Men’s  and  Young  Women’s  Christian  Asso- 
ciations has  been  carried  from  comparative  weakness  to  as  high  a state  of 
efficiency  as  that  of  any  other  department. 

3.  There  has  been  a striking  increase  in  the  number  of  students  who 
expect  to  be  missionaries.  Take  the  young  men  of  the  colleges  for  example. 
Accurate  reports  show  that  there  were  over  three  times  as  many  men  in  the 
colleges  last  year  who  were  expecting  to  be  foreign  missionaries  as  there  were 
in  1885—86,  the  year  before  this  Movement  started.  If  the  comparison  were 
restricted  to  that  portion  of  the  college  field  which  has  received  most  attention 
from  the  Movement,  the  increase  in  number  of  candidates  would  have  been 
over  five-fold.  In  the  light  of  facts  covering  our  leading  seminaries,  it  is 
safely  estimated  that  there  are  now  over  50  per  cent  more  theological  students 
who  plan  to  be  missionaries  than  there  were  ten  years  ago.  In  several  semi- 
naries the  increase  has  been  far  greater. 

4.  The  Movement  has  inaugurated  and  is  earnestly  prosecuting  an 
educational  campaign  on  missions  among  the  colleges  and  seminaries.  It  has 
been  the  chief  factor  in  starting  a series  of  regular  monthly  missionary  meet- 
ings in  about  two  hundred  institutions  which  did  not  have  them  before. 
Furthermore,  it  lias  very  greatly  improved  the  character  of  such  meetings  in 


12 


institutions  where  they  were  already  being  held.  More  important  still,  in 
some  respects,  are  the  weekly  band  meetings  for  a systematic  and  thorough 
study  of  missions.  When  this  agency  entered  the  field  there  were  less  than 
ten  such  study  groups  in  the  United  States  and  Canada.  Now  there  are  at 
least  one  hundred  and  thirty-six.  In  connection  with  these  band  meetings  the 
Movement  has  prepared  and  introduced  several  courses  of  progressive  mission- 
ary studies.  These  are  being  successfully  used  by  a larger  number  of  bands 
each  year.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  three  series  of  missionary  Bible 
studies  have  been  used  more  widely  than  all  others  combined.  All  this  marks 
a great  advance;  for  over  four  years  ago  there  was  not  in  existence  any 
specially  adapted  outline  courses  of  study  for  a mission  band.  Another  and 
a most  fundamental  feature  of  the  educational  work  of  the  Movement  has 
been  the  planting  and  enriching  of  missionary  libraries  in  our  institutions.  In 
over  one  hundred  institutions  which  had  practically  no  missionary  books  three 
or  four  years  ago,  there  are  now  good  working  collections.  Some  of  the  lead- 
ing theological  seminaries  of  the  United  States  had  no  modern  missionary 
works  whatever  until  they  were  secured  through  the  influence  of  the  volun- 
teer band.  The  same  thing  is  also  true  of  a large  number  of  the  colleges.  In 
the  aggregate,  thousands  of  dollars  worth  of  missionary  literature  has  been 
placed  within  reach  of  students  within  the  last  three  years.  It  would  be 
difficult  to  overstate  the  importance  of  the  service  the  Movement  has  rendered 
to  missions  on  these  practical  educational  lines. 

6.  At  the  Cleveland  Convention  it  was  reported  that  the  colleges  and 
seminaries  combined  had  contributed  during  the  preceding  year  about  $15,000 
to  foreign  missions  over  and  above  what  they  had  previously  given.  Under 
the  influence  of  the  Movement  this  amount  has  been  steadily  increasing,  until 
last  year  the  colleges  alone  gave  over  $25,000  more  than  they  gave  before  the 
Movement  was  started.  The  returns  from  the  seminaries  are  not  sufficiently 
full  to  enable  us  to  give  exact  figures.  It  is  a conservative  estimate  to  say  that 
the  colleges  and  seminaries  combined  gave  to  foreign  missions  over  $40,000 
last  year.  This  came  almost  entirely  from  between  80  and  90  institutions 
which  are  each  supporting,  or  helping  to  support  a missionary.  This  sum, 
considered  in  itself,  does  not  mean  much  ; but  its  influence  on  two  lines  means 
a great  deal.  In  the  first  place,  when  churches  learn  that  such  a college  or 
seminary  is  supporting  a missionary,  it  will  lead  them  to  see  the  possibility  of 
their  doing  even  more  than  the  students.  A number  of  churches  have  been 
influenced  to  do  this  on  learning  these  facts  about  the  sacrifice  of  students.  A 
more  important  influence,  however,  is  that  coming  from  educating  the  students 
themselves  in  habits  of  systematic  aud  proportionate  giving.  The  colleges  and 
seminaries  have  in  them  the  ministry  of  the  future.  They  will  not  forget  the 
object  lesson  of  the  support  of  a missionary,  but  will  reproduce  it  in  their 
churches  and  young  people’s  societies. 

7.  How  many  volunteers  have  sailed,  is  a question  which  should  be 
answered  in  the  record  of  the  results  of  this  Movement.  We  have  the  names 
of  €38  who  are  now  in  mission  lands.  In  all  probability  there  are  a number 

<c#<o 


i3 


who  have  gone  out  that  we  know  nothing  about,  owing  to  the  poor  reports 
rendered  by  some  institutions.  It  is  a striking,  yet.  natural  fact,  that  more 
have  sailed  during  the  last  two  and  one-half  years  than  during  the  preceding 
five  and  one-half  years.  It  shows  conclusively  that  the  movement  is  increasing 
in  volume  and  momentum.  The  question  is  often  asked  whether  the  leaders 
are  pressing  toward  the  field.  In  answer,  it  may  be  stated  that  every  volun- 
teer who  has  ever  served  as  a member  of  the  Executive  Committee,  or  as  trav- 
eling or  corresponding  secretary,  since  the  Movement  was  organized,  is  either 
on  the  foreign  field,  or  under  appointment,  or  has  applied.  The  same  might 
be  said  of  nearly  all  the  volunteers  who  have  been  the  moving  spirits  in  the 
various  states  or  sections. 

8.  On  parallel  lines  with  its  efforts  to  secure  volunteers  for  foreign  ser- 
vice, the  Movement  has  enlisted  the  active  interest  of  thousands  of  students 
who  are  to  remain  at  home.  Where  this  work  is  properly  developed  each 
volunteer  stands  for  more  than  one  volunteer.  He  represents  a number  of 
his  student  friends  and  classmates  who,  because  of  his  offering  himself  to  the 
foreign  cause,  and  better  still,  because  of  the  reasons  which  influenced  his 
decision,  will  stand  back  of  him  and  the  missionary  enterprise  on  the  home 
field.  The  honorary  secretary  of  one  of  our  greatest  missionary  boards  voices 
a conviction  shared  by  many  other  secretaries  in  maintaining  that  one  of  the 
things  most  needed  now  in  order  to  make  possible  the  going  forth  of  larger 
numbers  of  volunteers  is  more  ‘ ‘ missionary  pastors — pastors  of  churches  that 
will  simply  do  their  duty,  that  will  lead  their  churches  in  the  way  they  ought 
to  go,  and  are  waiting  to  be  led,  some  of  them  longing  to  be  led.”  One  of 
the  ambitions  of  the  Movement  is  to  help  meet  this  fundamental  need. 

9.  While  absorbed  principally  in  cultivating  the  student  field,  the 
volunteers  have  nevertheless  made  their  influence  felt  in  the  churches.  We 
know  of  a number  of  bands  the  members  of  which  have,  during  the  past  year, 
made  stirring  appeals  in  from  twenty-five  to  over  one  hundred  churches. 
Their  work  has  been  practical  as  well,  for  often  it  has  resulted  in  a very  con- 
siderable increase  in  the  amount  contributed  to  missions.  Some  volunteers 
have  been  enabled  to  secure  pledges  covering  all  or  a part  of  their  support  as 
missionaries.  As  a rule,  the  most  successful  and  hopeful  work  in  the  churches 
has  been  among  the  young  people  on  educational  and  financial  lines.  The 
volunteers  have  found  this  field  to  be  peculiary  accessible. 

10.  In  the  report  rendered  at  the  convention  three  years  ago  it  was 
stated  that  the  committee  had  been  invited  to  send  a representative  to  help 
introduce  and  organize  the  Movement  among  the  universities  of  Great  Britain 
and  Seandinavia;  and  the  hope  was  expressed  that  we  might  soon  be  enabled 
to  enter  that  most  important  door.  It  is,  therefore,  with  special  gratitude 
that  we  record  the  fact  that  Mr.  Wilder,  on  his  way  to  India,  found  it  possible 
to  spend  a year  among  the  students  of  these  countries,  and  to  spread  the  prin- 
ciples and  methods  of  the  Student  Volunteer  Movement.  As  a result  largely 
of  this  work,  the  missionary  interest  of  the  British  universities  assumed 
organized  form  in  the  Student  Volunteer  Missionary  Union.  This  organiza- 


14 


tion,  though  less  than  two  years  old,  has  had  a truly  remarkable  growth  and 
influence. 

Missionary  fires  were  also  kindled  by  Mr.  Wilder  and  Mr.  Moorhead  in 
the  universities  of  Scandinavia,  although  no  definite  inter-collegiate  organiza 
tion  has  as  yet  been  perfected. 

A volunteer  who  went  out  from  Wellesley  College  to  work  in  South 
Africa  has  succeeded  in  raising  up  groups  of  volunteers  in  some  of  the  institu 
tions  there,  and  has  united  them — forming  a branch  of  our  Movement. 

It  would  be  impossible  to  measure  the  extension  of  the  influence  of  the 
Movement  through  the  hundreds  of  volunteers  who  are  touching  the  student 
life  of  scores  of  mission  lands. 


VI.  Other  Facts  We  have  reviewed  some  of  the  general  results  of  the  work  of 
Showing  the  the  Movement.  Its  influence  can  be  seen  also  by  looking  at 
Influence  of  what  it  has  actually  accomplished  in  a few  institutions,  and 
the  Wove-  by  making  a few  contrasts.  For  obvious  reasons  we  do  not 
ment.  give  names  of  institutions,  states  or  sections. 

One  little  denominational  college  with  less  than  seventy- 
five  students  was  touched  by  this  Movement.  At  that  time  it  had  no  foreign 
missionary  interest  or  work  whatever.  One  man  was  led  to  volunteer.  He 
was  thoroughly  grounded  and  instructed  in  the  spiritual  principles  of  the 
Movement.  A missionary  department  was  added  to  the  religious  organiza- 
tion of  the  college.  Regular  missionary  meetings  were  held  which  were 
regarded  as  the  strongest  and  most  popular  meetings  in  the  college.  Four 
other  men  were  led  to  volunteer.  One  of  the  volunteers  after  graduating  went 
at  once  to  the  foreign  field,  and  the  students  and  faculty  pay  over  $600  per 
year  to  support  him.  This  whole  development  took  place  within  two  years, 
and  the  students  of  that  institution  trace  it  directly  to  the  Student  Volunteer 
Movement. 

Take  a state  university.  There  is  one  which  a few  years  ago  had  about 
one  thousand  students.  Although  it  had  one  of  the  largest  Christian  Associa- 
tions in  the  country  it  had  during  a period  of  over  two  years  not  a single  mis- 
sionary meeting  ; it  had  no  missionary  books;  not  a student  in  the  whole  uni- 
versity was  expecting  to  be  a missionary;  worse  than  that,  its  long  line  of 
alumni,  numbering  thousands,  included  not  a single  missionary;  not  a dollar 
was  being  given  to  missions ; the  word  missionary,  to  use  Mr.  Wilder’s 
expression,  meant  miserere.  This  picture  is  strictly  accurate.  The  Volunteer 
Movement  entered  that  University  and  has  kept  fairly  in  touch  with  it 
since.  Note  the  change.  To-day  the  missionary  meetings  are  among  those 
most  largely  attended.  There  is  a band  of  sixteen  students  who  expect  to  be 
missionaries.  They  are  carrying  on  a very  thorough  study  of  missions.  A 
carefully  selected  missionary  library  has  been  planted  and  additions  are  made 
to  it  each  year.  Two  or  three  of  the  volunteers  have  already  sailed,  others 
have  applied,  and  at  least  one  is  under  appointment.  One  of  those  on  the 
field  is  largely  supported  by  the  students,  who  give  annually  for  this  purpose 
nearly  $500.  This  complete  change  is  due  solely  to  the  Volunteer  Movement 


i5 


Now  look  at  a theological  seminary  which  to-day  has  very  little  active 
missionary  interest  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  Movement  has  been  unable  to 
touch  it  for  three  years.  During  that  time  the  volunteers  have  graduated. 
Prior  to  this  period  the  Movement  did  a very  thorough  work  in  the  institution. 
During  the  last  year  that  the  Movement  was  in  contact  with  that  seminary 
regular  missionary  meetings  were  held  not  only  each  month,  but  also  each  week 
A volunteer  hand  numbering  eighteen  was  making  a special  study  of  missions. 
An  alcove  containing  the  best  missionary  literature  was  established.  The  churches 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  seminary  were  divided  up  among  the  members  of  the 
band  and  special  missionary  addresses  given  in  them.  Over  $700  was  given 
to  support  a missionary.  That  year  out  of  a graduating  class  of  seven  stu- 
dents, four  sailed  before  fall  to  the  foreign  field.  This  varied  and  fruitful 
activity  was  due  almost  entirely  to  the  Volunteer  Movement. 

It  will  be  suggestive  to  contrast  the  condition  of  the  missionary  life  in  two 
theological  seminaries;  in  one  the  Student  Volunteer  Movement  was  never 
permitted  to  have  a foot-hold,  in  the  other  the  Movement  has  for  several  years 
had  right  of  way.  Their  general  situation  and  conditions  are  practically  the 
same.  Looking  at  them  apart  from  this  Movement,  the  one  which  might 
naturally  be  expected  to  be  the  more  potent  in  all  foreign  missionary  work  is 
the  one  which,  as  a matter  of  fact,  is  the  weaker.  A careful  examination  shows 
that  the  only  factor  which  enters  into  one  which  does  not  enter  into  the  other 
is  the  unrestricted  work  of  the  V olunteer  Movement.  Keep  in  mind  that  the  one 
having  the  poorer  missionary  showing  is  the  larger  institution.  The  seminary 
which  does  not  favor  the  Movement  has  fourteen  men  who  expect  to  be  mis- 
sionaries, a majority  of  whom  became  voluuteers  under  the  influence  of  the 
Movement  in  college  before  entering  the  seminary.  In  the  other  seminary 
there  are  nearly  fifty  volunteers.  In  one  seminary  the  men  who  expect  to  be 
missionaries  are  carrying  on  no  course  of  study  on  missions  In  the  other 
the  volunteers  are  engaged  in  a most  thorough  and  advanced  series  of  studies. 
In  one  seminary  less  than  thirty  modern  missionary  books  are  within  reach  of 
the  men ; in  the  other  over  two  hundred  have  been  secured  under  the  influence 
of  the  volunteers.  One  gives  less  than  $300  per  year  to  foreign  missions ; the 
other  gives  over  $1000.  The  missionary  students  of  one  have  carried  on  no 
aggressive  work  for  foreign  missions  in  the  surrounding  churches,  whereas  the 
volunteers  in  the  other  have  made  thirty-eight  important  missionary  visits 
within  the  last  five  months. 

During  the  past  year  a representative  of  the  Movement  visited  a number 
of  denominational  colleges  which  had  never  come  under  its  influence.  He 
collected  exact  facts  about  the  missionary  status  of  each  institution. 
We  summarize  the  facts  about  eight  of  these  colleges  which  make  the 
best  missionary  showing.  In  contrast  with  these  summaries  we  place  the 
summaries  of  statistics  gathered  in  connection  with  eight  denominational  col- 
leges of  the  same  rank  and  size,  and  in  the  same  section,  which  had  been 
cultivated  even  partially  by  the  Volunteer  Movement.  In  the  eight  institu- 
tions untouched  by  the  Movement,  there  were  seven  who  expected  to  be  mis- 


sionaries,  and  none  of  them  had  made  their  purpose  known.  In  the  eight 
colleges  touched  by  the  Movement  there  were  sixty-eight  volunteers  who  had 
declared  their  purpose.  In  the  first  group  two  of  the  eight  were  having 
regular  missionary  meetings  ; in  the  second,  all  eight  had  such  meetings.  In 
the  first  group  not  a college  had  a class  for  the  study  of  missions  ; four  col- 
leges in  the  second  had  such  classes.  The  first  group  gave  less  than  $90  to 
missions  last  year  ; the  second  group  gave  $460.  In  the  first  group  only  one 
college  had  missionary  books  ; in  the  other  three  colleges  had  such  collections. 
The  contrast  might  be  made  still  more  striking  in  favor  of  the  influence  of  the 
Movement  if  we  note  the  summaries  of  eight  denominational  colleges  in  a 
state  where  the  Movement  has  been  at  work  for  several  years.  Those  eight 
colleges  last  year  had  142  volunteers  ; all  of  the  eight  had  regular  missionary 
meetings  ; six  of  the  eight  had  mission  band  classes  ; six  had  large  collections 
of  modem  missionary  books  ; each  contributed  to  missions  in  the  aggregate 
$2,890. 

Another  interesting  contrast  is  afforded  by  the  state  universities.  Let  us 
take  five  of  them  which  have  received  special  attention  from  the  Movement 
for  several  years,  and  place  against  them  five  which  have  been  practically 
untouched  by  the  Movement.  The  five  which  have  been  untouched  have  the 
largest  proportion  of  Christian  students.  In  the  five  neglected  universities 
there  were  last  year  only  four  volunteers,  and  three  of  them  are  due  to  the 
influence  of  the  Movement  at  the  summer  schools.  Only  one  of  the  five  had 
missionary  meetings.  None  of  them  had  missionary  books.  Not  a dollar  was 
given  to  missions.  In  the  five  universities  which  have  been  quite  frequently 
visited  by  the  secretary  of  the  Movement,  there  were  last  year  73  volunteers. 
Four  of  the  five  held  strong  missionary  meetings.  All  five  had  collections  of 
missionary  books.  All  but  one  contributed  to  missions — $1,238  being  given 
in  the  aggregate. 

These  comparisons  and  contrasts  might  be  multiplied  indefinitely,  and 
some  even  more  favorable  to  the  Movement  might  have  been  given. 

As  the  Executive  Committee  study  the  needs  of  this  Move- 
VII.  Policy.  ment,  and  consider  the  unexampled  opportunities  before  it, 

they  are  led  to  outline  several  points  of  policy  which  the 
volunteers  should  seek  to  emphasize  as  never  before. 

1.  We  should  strive  to  establish  the  Movement  more  widely  and  firmly 
in  certain  sections  and  among  certain  classes  of  students.  At  present  the 
largest  number  of  volunteers  and  highest  development  of  missionary  interest 
is  to  be  found  in  the  colleges  between  New  England  and  Colorado,  and  north  of 
the  Ohio  River.  Of  course  there  are  a number  of  institutions  within  these  limits 
which  are  greatly  lacking  in  missionary  spirit,  but  viewing  it  as  a section  it  is  in 
advance  of  any  other.  The  colleges  of  the  South  should  receive  special  attention 
during  the  near  future.  The  missionary  record  of  certain  southern  insti- 
tutions shows  what  splendid  possibilities  there  are  in  this  important  section. 
The  Maritime  Provinces  and  Manitoba  have  been  less  cultivated  on  missionary 


i7 


lines  than  Upper  Canada,  but  the  little  which  has  been  done  shows  that  an 
undue  proportion  of  strong  missionaries  may  be  expected  from  these  sections. 
Even  an  indirect  touching  of  the  colleges  of  the  Pacific  Coast  has  called  forth 
such  a response  as  to  give  us  reason  to  believe  that  special  efforts  put  forth  in 
that  section  would  bring  a rich  fruitage.  Accurate  reports  show  that  there 
has  been  a falling  off  in  the  missionary  interest  and  activity  in  the  institutions 
of  New  England  taken  as  a whole,  although  there  are  still  some  very  bright 
exceptions.  This  is  due  primarily  to  lack  of  supervision.  It  is  firmly 
believed  that,  with  wise  and  continuous  effort,  the  institutions  of  this  section, 
which  in  the  early  days  of  this  century,  gave  birth  to  American  missions,  and 
later  to  the  Student  Volunteer  Movement,  will  furnish  one  of  the  largest  con- 
tingents for  the  foreign  field.  A field  second  in  importance  to  none,  and  in 
the  light  of  the  actual  needs  of  the  world  possibly  more  important  just  now 
than  any  other,  are  the  medical  schools  of  North  America.  It  is  the  unmis- 
takable duty  of  the  Movement  to  address  itself  at  once,  and  with  faithfulness, 
to  the  cultivation  of  this  field.  There  is  also  real  need  of  a special  work 
among  the  college  young  women.  This  is  seen  at  a glance  from  the  fact  that 
not  more  than  one-third  of  volunteers  are  women.  This  is  not  due  to  any  lack 
of  willingness  on  their  part  to  offer  themselves,  because  the  list  of  missionaries 
shows  that  more  women  by  far  have  gone  to  the  field  than  men.  The  small  pro- 
portion of  young  women  is  due  chiefly  to  the  fact  that  while  the  women  in 
co- educational  institutions  have  come  largely  under  the  influence  of  the  Move- 
ment, those  in  the  distinctively  women’s  colleges  have  not.  If  there  could  be  a 
woman  constantly  at  work  among  the  tens  of  thousands  of  young  women  in 
our  colleges  she  could  accomplish  a work  of  untold  importance.  To  summar- 
ize this  point  of  policy,  then,  we  would  state  that  this  Movement  should  keep 
in  mind  all  classes  of  students  in  all  sections  of  the  student  field.  And  this 
not  alone  for  the  sake  of  the  Movement,  but  for  the  sake  of  the  deeper  spirit- 
ual life  of  the  institutions  themselves. 

2.  Let  us  reiterate  what  has  been  stated  and  implied  over  and  over  again 
in  this  report,  that  even  more  important  than  the  work  of  extension  is  that  of 
supervision.  The  largest,  richest  and  most  permanent  results  have  been 
found  invariably  along  the  pathway  of  constant  supervision.  Let  us  in  a 
deeper  sense  than  ever  guard  that  which  has  been  committed  unto  us.  To  this 
end  we  should  increase  the  number  and  efficiency  of  the  agencies  of  super- 
vision. May  not  interested  and  influential  professors  be  found  in  our  institu- 
tions who  will  make  the  matter  of  foreign  missions  their  outside  specialty — 
as  so  many  of  them  do  with  reference  to  Bible  study  to-day — and  by  their 
watchfulness  and  special  counsel  render  an  incalculable  service  in  insuring  the 
strength  and  permanency  of  this  Movement  ? Out  of  this  may  we  not  expect 
eventually  in  many  institutions  that  chairs  and  special  lectureships  on  missions 
will  be  established  as  has  been  so  successfully  done  already  in  a few  places? 
Shajl  we  not  plan  to  have  the  chairmen  of  more  volunteer  bands  and  mission- 
ary committees  attend  the  summer  schools  in  order  that  in  the  special  mission- 
ary institutes  they  may  become  better  equipped  to  lead  the  volunteer  and  mis- 


i8 


sionarj^  activities  of  their  respective  institutions?  Shall  not  more  of  the  State 
Committees  of  the  Young  Men’s  and  Yoimg  Women’s  Christian  Associations 
co-operate  with  the  Executive  Committee  in  having  state  corresponding  mem- 
bers appointed  to  look  after  this  peculiarly  important  department  of  the  Asso- 
ciations? Shall  not  one  of  the  achievements  of  this  Convention  be  that  the 
Holy  Spirit  will  lead  us  to  make  possible  an  enlargement  of  the  secretarial 
force  of  the  Student  Volunteer  Movement  itself? 

3.  As  during  the  past,  so  in  the  future,  let  us  press  with  fulness,  tact,  and 
prayerfulness  the  claims  of  the  unevangelized  world  upon  the  students  of  our 
generation,  and  help  to  lead  them  to  a clear  and  glad  decision  to  fling  their 
lives  into  this  greatest  enterprise  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Our  numbers  are 
large.  They  are  not  large  enough.  Let  us  not  forget  the  words  of  a secre- 
tary of  one  of  our  greatest  missionary  societies:  “The  Volunteer  Movement 
should  be  putting  its  men  into  our  seminaries  by  the  hundred  and  the  thousand 
every  year.”  Let  us  ring  into  the  ears  of  the  students  of  America  the  words 
of  that  splendid  volunteer,  Keith-Falconer,  who  in  speaking  to  the  students  of 
Cambridge  said : “While  vast  continents  are  shrouded  in  almost  utter  dark- 
ness, and  hundreds  of  millions  suffer  the  horrors  of  heathenism  and  Islam,  the 
burden  of  proof  lies  upon  you  to  show  that  the  circumstances  in  which  God 
has  placed  you  were  meant  by  Him  to  keep  you  out  of  the  foreign  field.”  Yes, 
the  world  need  is  great.  The  crisis  is  on.  The  time  is  short.  The  students 
of  our  day  must  know  their  duty  before  it  is  too  late.  Ours  is  the  responsi- 
bility to  make  that  duty  known. 

4.  Another  aim  should  be  to  make  possible  a deeper,  more  comprehen- 
sive, more  progressive,  and  more  practical  study  of  missions.  Therefore 
authorities  on  missions  should  be  invited  to  elaborate  courses  of  study  adapted 
to  the  needs  and  conditions  of  the  volunteer  bands.  Here  is  an  almost  uncul- 
tivated, and  a most  fascinating  field.  Leaders  to  guide  in  such  study  must  be 
enlisted,  and,  in  many  cases,  trained.  The  use  of  these  courses  of  study  should 
not  be  limited  to  volunteers  but  should  be  extended  to  students  who  are  not 
volunteers.  To  supply  the  necessary  means  or  facilities  for  careful  study  an 
effort  should  be  put  forth  to  establish  an  alcove  of  the  best  available  missionary 
literature  in  every  institution.  Each  student  delegation  at  this  Convention 
should  make  a careful  inspection  of  the  educational  exhibit  with  reference  to 
greatly  improving  the  collection  of  missionary  books  in  their  institution.  This 
exhibit  is  the  most  complete  of  its  kind  which  has  ever  been  made.  A close 
study  of  it  should  lead  within  a year  to  placing  modem  missionary  libraries  in 
at  least  one  hundred  institutions  where  they  do  not  now  exist.  This  is  a funda- 
mental condition  of  all  solid  and  growing  and  productive  missionary  interest. 

5.  The  time  has  come  when  the  volunteers  must  grapple  with  the  finan- 
cial problem  with  greater  wisdom  and  persistence.  What  good  reason  is 
there  why  the  volunteer  who  takes  hold  of  this  matter  in  the  right  manner 
and  spirit  and  keeps  at  it  cannot,  before  he  sails,  increase  the  annual  contri- 
butions to  his  church  board  sufficiently  to  cover  his  support  on  the  foreign 
field?  What  individual  volunteers,  whom  we  know,  have  done  in  this  direc- 


!9 


cion  gives  us  confidence  to  believe  that  hundreds  or  thousands  of  volunteers 
can  do  the  same  thing.  The  possibilities  of  raising  up  a vast  constituency  of 
new,  systematic  and  proportionate  givers  among  the  millions  of  members  of 
the  various  young  people’s  movements  are  practically  limitless.  This  field  is 
peculiarly  accessible  to  students.  It  opens  up  to  them  on  every  hand,  not 
only  while  in  college,  but  also  during  vacations.  And  why  should  not  a 
great  many  students  who  cannot  yet  see  their  way  clear  to  offer  themselves 
for  foreign  service  give  themselves  to  this  practical  financial  work,  and  thus 
make  possible  the  sending  of  their  classmates  as  substitutes? 

6.  The  Movement  should  seek  to  keep  in  touch  with  those  of  its  mem- 
bers who  have  sailed  and  are  at  the  front.  Every  volunteer  should  recognize 
that  his  responsibility  to  the  Movement  is  not  discharged  when  he  sails.  If 
anything,  it  is  greatly  increased,  because  the  fact  that  he  has  sailed  immensely 
increases  his  influence.  He  is  in  a position  to  do  far  more  for  the  Movement 
than  before  he  went  abroad.  His  counsel  concerning  its  problems  and  oppor- 
tunities, as  he  views  them  from  the  field,  will  be  especially  valuable.  His 
appeals  for  laborers  will  have  an  added  force  in  the  institution  from  which  he 
came  and  wherever  his  name  is  known.  His  prayers,  stimulated  by  actual 
contact  with  the  awful  need  of  the  world,  will  yet  become  the  greatest  motive 
power  in  this  Movement.  And  as  the  years  pass,  and  larger  numbers  of  the 
volunteers  return  for  a brief  sojourn  in  their  native  land,  they  can  and  will 
stir  the  colleges  and  seminaries  as  no  other  messengers  possibly  can.  As  the 
number  of  our  members  in  the  dark  continents  of  the  world  increases,  so 
will  increase  the  clearness  and  persuasiveness  of  the  Macedonian  call. 
We  appeal  to  the  volunteers  in  other  countries  to  do  what  the  volunteers  of 
India  have  done,  viz:  to  perfect  an  auxiliary  organization  of  their  members, 
not  only  to  help  each  other  in  the  great  work  to  which  they  have  given  them- 
selves, but  also  to  influence  aright  the  volunteers  at  home,  and  to  aid  in  real- 
izing the  central  purpose  of  the  Movement.  The  enterprise  upon  which  all 
the  volunteers  have  embarked,  whether  they  are  on  the  field,  in  an  institution 
securing  their  preparation,  or  providentially  hindered,  is  not  a four,  or  seven, 
or  ten  year  effort ; it  is,  if  need  be,  to  span  our  generation.  Let  us  stand 
together,  no  matter  where  we  are,  until  it  is  carried  to  a successful  issue. 

7.  Let  us  preserve  a close  union  with  the  Student  Volunteer  Missionary 
Union  of  Great  Britain.  Although  their  organization  is  comparatively  young, 
it  has  made  most  remarkable  progress;  and  a close  study  of  its  life  and  workings 
would  abound  in  suggestion  and  inspiration  to  the  American  volunteer.  This 
movement  and  our  own  have,  as  a common  rallying  point,  the  same  declara- 
tion, and,  as  a common  inspiration,  the  same  watch-cry.  For  the  first  time 
the  students  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  world  are  united  in  a mighty  enterprise. 
Made  one  by  the  Holy  Spirit  of  missions,  who  can  measure  the  power  of  this 
Christian  federation  for  a world’s  evangelization?  With  deep  sincerity  and 
gratitude  we  welcome  to  our  convention  and  institutions  Mr.  Donald  Fraser, 
the  Traveling  Secretary  of  the  British  movement,  who  comes  to  us  as  their 
fraternal  delegate. 


20 


8.  Let  us  keep  to  the  front  and  ever  before  us  as  our  hope  and  inspira- 
tion the  watch-cry  of  the  Movement,  The  Evangelization  of  the  World  in  this 
Generation.  This  idea  has  passed  from  the  region  of  mere  conjecture  into  the 
realm  of  the  actual  faith  and  convictions  of  a rapidly  increasing  number  of 
men  and  women.  The  Student  Volunteer  Movement  stands  pre-eminently  for 
the  emphasis  of  the  belief,  that  by  an  enlargement  of  the  agencies  employed 
by  the  missionary  societies  to-day,  the  gospel  can  be  and  should  be  fully 
preached  to  every  creature  during  this  generation.  The  Volunteers  believe 
that  this  is  an  absolute  necessity,  because  without  it  millions  will  perish.  They 
believe  it  is  a duty  because  Christ  has  commanded  it.  They  believe  it  is  a 
privilege  because  it  will  hasten  the  appearing  of  Jesus  Christ.  They  believe 
it  is  a possibility  because  of  what  the  early  Christian  Church  achieved  under 
far  more  adverse  circumstances  than  those  which  confront  the  Church  of  the 
nineteenth  century.  When  this  idea  is  firmly  anchored  in  the  consciousness 
of  this  Movement  it  will  give  it  an  irresistible  power. 

9.  As  this  Movement  advances  in  years,  and  in  numbers,  and  in  influence, 
there  is  need  of  recognizing  with  increasing  faithfulness  our  absolute  depend- 
ence upon  the  Holy  Ghost.  He  furnished  its  kindling  spark  at  Mount  Hermon, 
and  lighted  its  fires  all  over  the  North  American  student  field.  He  called  its 
secretaries  and  sent  them  up  and  down  the  land  with  a power  not  their  own — 
touching  and  deepening  and  enriching  the  lives  and  purposes  of  thousands  of 
students.  From  Him  the  generous  gifts  of  money  came  which  have  made 
possible  such  far-reaching  achievements.  He  spoke  to  the  volunteers  with  that 
voice  which  His  sheep  always  know,  for  a stranger  they  will  not  follow.  He 
it  is  that  must  energize  them  and  thrust  them  forth.  It  is  He  who  will  give 
them  enduring  fruits.  He  inspired  our  watch-cry,  and  He  alone  can,  and 
will  enable  us  to  carry  it  to  a full  realization. 

VIH.  Whai  the  To  carry  out  with  thoroughness  these  far-reaching  aims, 
Movement  and  to  realize  in  any  measure  the  possibilities  wrapped  up 
Needs.  in  this  Movement,  it  must  have  the  unreserved  co-operation 
of  its  members  and  friends. 

1.  It  needs  their  intelligent  and  sympathetic  counsel.  The  experience 
and  convictions  of  secretaries  and  missionaries,  in  particular,  will  do  much  to 
confirm  and  guide  the  volunteers. 

2.  Money  is  needed  in  order  to  enable  the  Executive  Committee  to  enter 
doors  of  unparalleled  opportunity  which  open  on  every  hand.  From  its 
inception  God  has  never  let  this  Movement  suffer  for  want  of  money.  He 
always  increased  the  number  of  contributors  to  keep  pace  with  its  steady 
expansion.  At  least  $6,000  a year  are  needed  during  the  next  three  years. 

3.  There  is  need  of  an  unwavering  and  enthusiastic  belief  on  the  part  of 
each  volunteer  in  the  providential  origin  of  this  Movement,  its  deep  scriptural 
basis,  and  its  God-given  purpose.  Such  a confidence  will  inspire  a larger 
enterprise,  a deeper  sacrifice,  a sublimer  heroism,  a more  Christ-like  obedience 
This  faith,  indeed,  must  necessarily  be  the  victory  which  overcomes  the  world. 


21 


4.  Beyond  all  else,  the  deepest  need  of  the  Volunteer  Movement  is 
definite,  united,  importunate  prayer.  This  is  imperative  in  order  that 
volunteers  may  be  recruited,  not  by  men,  but  by  God  Himself.  Prayer  is 
needed  still  more  during  the  long  years  of  preparation,  that  the  volunteer 
having  put  his  hand  to  the  plow  may  keep  it  there,  and  that  he  may  be 
possessed  by  the  Holy  Spirit.  Even  then  the  thousands  of  students  who  have 
thus  given  themselves  to  this  work,  will  never  reach  the  great  harvest  fields 
of  the  world  until  there  is  a more  absolute  compliance  with  that  wonderful 
condition  laid  down  by  Jesus  Christ,  “Pray  ye,  therefore,  the  Lord  of  the 
harvest,  that  He  send  forth  laborers  into  His  harvest.”  This  has  been 
strikingly  illustrated  at  times  in  the  history  of  the  great  Church 
Missionary  Society  of  England.  At  one  time  in  1872,  it  is  said,  “ a day 
was  spent  in  prayer  offered  distinctly  and  definitely  for  more  men.  It 
was  followed  by  more  offers  for  service  than  had  ever  been  received.  In 
the  five  years  following  it  sent  out  112  men,  whereas  in  the  five  years  preceding 
it  had  sent  out  51  men.  Again,  in  the  latter  part  of  1884,  men  were  sorely 
needed  ; and  a day  was  appointed  to  pray  for  them.  The  previous  evening 
Mr.  Wigram  was  summoned  to  Cambridge  to  see  a number  of  graduates  and 
under-graduates  who  desired  to  dedicate  themselves  to  the  Lord’s  work  abroad. 
More  than  one  hundred  university  men  met  him,  and  he  returned  to  the  prayer 
meeting  next  day  to  prove  to  his  colleagues  the  promise,  ‘ Before  they  call  I 
will  answer.’  ” With  deep  conviction  we  reiterate,  here  lies  at  once  our  great- 
est need,  our  most  solemn  duty,  and  our  most  inspiring  opportunity.  “ Lord, 
teach  us  to  pray.” 

“ Lord  it  is  nothing  with  Thee  to  help,  whether  with  many,  or  with  them 
that  have  no  power.  Help  us,  O Lord,  our  God  ; for  we  rest  on  Thee,  and 
in  Thy  name  we  go  against  the  multitude.” 

JOHN  R.  MOTT, 

JAMES  EDWARD  ADAMS, 

MISS  EFFIE  K.  PRICE, 

Executive  Committee. 


THE  BUDDHIST’S  SALVATION 


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THE  WAY 


TO  THE  WESTERN  PARADISE 

ACCORDING  TO 

THE  BUDDHIST  PRIEST  CHE. 

Missionary  work  has  been  objected  to  on  the  ground  that  the  fol- 
lowers of  Buddha,  Zoroaster,  Mahomet,  and  Confucius  are  already 
much  on  a par  with  the  followers  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  do  not  need  our 
Gospel. 

Buddhism  is  the  faith  of  millions  to-day.  Are  we  to  believe,  that 
this  faith,  evolved  by  the  ages  in  the  process  of  religious  development, 
exactly  suits  the  requirements  of  these  millions,  and  that  all  efforts  for 
their  evangelization  are  ill-judged  and  unreasonable  attempts  to  foist  a 
foreign  faith  upon  people  who  do  not  need  it  any  more  than  they  need 
foreign  clothes?  Or  are  we  to  number  them  among  “the  ignorant  and 
those  that  are  out  of  the  way,”  upon  whom  the  Christ  of  God  had  com- 
passion, whom  He  has  died  to  redeem,  and  to  whom  we  are  responsible 
to  carry  the  glad  tidings  of  His  great  love  and  great  salvation? 

Bet  Buddhism  speak  for  itself!  We  would  hear  its  own  testimony 
and  judge  from  its  own  lips  “the  Light  of  Asia.” 

The  following  reproduction,  translation,  and  account  of  a Chinese 
Buddhist  tract  appeared  recently  in  “ The  Far  East”: 

“Gan-kin  was  full  of  death.  There  was  a great  drought.  No  rain 
had  fallen  for  six  months.  The  city  was  parched  and  dry.  Foul  odors 
and  pestilential  gases, resulting  from  indescribably  unsanitary  conditions, 
bred  fevers  and  cholera  and  death.  There  was  no  water  to  wash  in,  and 
hardly  any  to  drink.  The  children  died.  The  beasts  died.  The  people 
died.  The  crops  failed.  Famine  threatened  the  city.  Who  was  to 
blame?  Above  all,  who  was  to  help? 

“Kaolaishan,  disciple  of  Buddha,  had  an  inspiration.  The  Bud- 
dhist priest  Che  had  spoken.  Gan-kin  had  forgotten  his  words;  this 
miserable  state  of  things  was  quite  to  be  expected;  but  the  town  should 
remember  once  more.  If  he  were  to  remind  Gan-kin,  it  would  be  an 
act  of  merit.  He  would  gain.  The  town  would  gain.  He  might  avert 
the  famine. 

“And  so  it  came  to  pass  that  the  words  of  the  Buddhist  priest  Che 
were  once  more  in  vogue  at  Gan-kin.  Kaolaishan  did  his  work 
thoroughly.  He  printed  a large  tract.  It  was  3 feet  long  and  feet 
wide.  It  was  posted  up  on  the  walls  and  distributed  by  thousands. 
Everybody  who  could  read,  read  it.  Everybody  who  could  pray, 
prayed  it.  It  enjoined  a constant  repetition  of  Buddha’s  name. 
His  name  was  repeated  innumerable  times,  for  could  not  his  name  avail 
to  avert  the  famine? 

“The  central  figure  on  the  sheet  was  that  of  the  Buddhist  priest. 


3 


The  lines  of  his  garments  were  ingeniously  contrived  in  readable  char- 
acters. Three  rows  of  dots  on  his  shaven  head  showed  the  marks  of  his 
ordination.  For  every  bead  on  the  rosary  in  his  hand  he  was  supposed 
to  repeat  Buddha’s  name  or  a prayer.  A coffin  and  a skeleton  at  the 
foot  of  the  sheet  represented  death — a subject  on  which  the  Buddhist 
priest  had  thought.  The  whole  tract  is  reproduced  in  fac-simile  on  page 
one  (to  which  the  initial  letters  in  brackets  refer),  and  reads  with  a cer- 
tain poetic  measure  and  rough  rhyme,  which  can  scarcly  be  preserved 
in  a translation  as  follows: — 

(A.)  Tract  exhorting  ael  Men  to  repeat  Buddha’s  name. 

(B.  i and  B.  2.)  “An  ingenious  Essay  on  the  Vanity  of  all  things, 
by  the  Buddhist  priest  Che.”6, 

(C.)  It  is  good  to  reform;  it  is  good  to  reform,7 

The  things  of  the  world  will  be  all  swept  away. 

Let  others  be  busy  while  buried  in  care, 

My  mind,  all  unvexed,  shall  be  pure. 

They  covet  all  day  long,  and  when  are  they  satisfied? 

They  only  regret  that  the  wealth  of  the  family  is  small, 

They  are  clearly  but  puppets  held  up  by  a string, 

When  the  string  breaks  they  come  down  with  a run. 

In  the  article  of  death  there  is  neither  great  nor  small, 

They  use  not  gold  nor  silver  and  need  not  precious  things, 
There  is  no  distinction  made  between  mean  and  ignoble,  ruler 
and  prince. 

Every  year  many  are  buried  beneath  the  fragant  grass; 

Look  at  the  red  sun  setting  behind  the  western  hills. 

Before  you  are  aware  the  cock  crows  and  it  is  daylight  again. 
Speedily  reform.  Do  not  say,  “It  is  early,” 

The  smallest  child  easily  becomes  old. 

Your  talent  reaches  to  the  dipper  (an  astronomical  constella- 
tion). 

Your  wealth  fills  a thousand  chests. 

Your  patrimony  follows  you,  when  will  you  be  satisfied? 

It  is  good  to  exhort  people  to  reform. 

To  become  vegetarian,8  and  repeat  Buddha’s  name  is  a 
precious  thing  you  can  carry  with  you. 

It  may  be  seen  that  wealth  and  reputation  are  vain. 

You  cannot  do  better  than  to  repeat  Buddha’s  name. 

(D.)  There  is,  there  is;  there  is  not, there  is  not;  yet  we  are  troubled. 
We  labor,  we  toil;  when  do  we  rest? 

Man  born  is  like  a winding  stream; 

The  affairs  of  the  world  are  heaped  up  mountains  high. 

6The  ingenuity  is  supposed  to  lie  in  the  arrangement  of  the  characters  so  as  to 
represent  the  garments  of  a priest;  and  in  the  discourse  being  so  planned  that  the 
character  for  "heart”  occurs  in  the  very  center  of  the  body,  where  the  Chinese 
believe  the  actual  heart  to  be  situatec  . 

?The  first  line,  literally  translated,  means  "Turn  the  head;  turn  the  head,”  an 
interesting  expression  when  connectedwith  our  Western  con-verto. 

*The  Chinese,  speaking  generally,  are,  as  a nation,  vegetarians.  Frequently  this 
is  a matter  of  necessity  with  them,  but  yrhen  strict  Buddhists  they  abstain  from, 
animal  food  from  religious  motives , 


4 


From  of  old,  from  of  old,  and  now,  and  now,  many  return  to 
their  original. 

The  poor,  the  poor,  the  rich,  the  rich,  change  places. 

We  pass  the  time  as  a matter  of  course; 

The  bitter,  the  bitter,  the  sweet,  the  sweet,  their  destiny  is  the 
same. 

(E.)  To  covet  profit  and  seek  reputation  the  worldover 

Is  not  so  good  as  (to  wear)  a ragged  priest’s  garment,  and  be 
found  amongst  Buddhists. 

A caged  fowl  has  food,  but  the  gravy  pot  is  near. 

The  wild  crane  has  no  grain,  but  heaven  and  earth  are  vast." 

It  is  difficult  to  retain  wealth  and  fame  for  a hundred  years, 
Transmigration  of  souls  continually  causes  change. 

I exhort  you,  gentlemen,  to  speedily  seek  some  way  of  reform- 
ing your  conduct. 

A man  (being)  once  lost,  a million  ages  (of  suffering)  will  be 
hard  to  bear. 

(F.)  A solitary  lamp  illumines  the  darkness  of  the  night, 

You  get  into  bed,  take  off  your  socks  and  shoes; 

Your  three  souls  and  seven  spirits* 1  turn  'and  follow  your 
dreams, 

Whether  they  will  come  hack  in  the  morning  light  is 
uncertain. 

(G.)  To  be  forgotten,  grow  old,  and  die  of  disease  is  a bitter  thing, 
But  who  has  not  this? 

If  you  do  not  repeat  Mito, 2 how  can  you  escape  punishment? 
(H.  i.)  Villainous  devices,  treacherous  evil,  hidden  poison,  false 
rejoicing, 

(&)  Forgetting  favors,  crossing  the  river  and  then  breaking  the 
bridge  (i.  e.  to  serve  oneself  at  the  expense  of  others), 

(H.  2.)  Losing  all  conscience,  deceiving  his  own  heart;  he  that  has 
done  these  things  lives  with  the  king  of  hell. 

He  that  has  said  good-bye  to  conscience,  even  he  now  finds  it 
difficult 

To  escape  the  punishment  of  the  knife-hill  and  oil-pot. 3 
(J.)  Houses,  gold  and  silver,  land,  wife,  family, 

Grace  and  love,  rank  and  lust,  all  are  VAIN. 4 

0 The  explanation  of  this  terse  saying  is  simple.  The  caged  fowl  with  his  food 
represents  the  man  who  seeks  to  provide  for  himself  in  the  ordinary  way.  As  the 
fowl  is  put  into  the  pot  when  it  is  fattened,  so  the  poor  mortal  goes  down  to  the  grave 
at  the  appointed  time.  The  wild  crane  without  food  represents  the  Buddhist  priest 
without  any  means  of  sustenance.  In  his  case  the  world  from  which  to  choose  is  all 
before  him.  and  he  will  reach  the  Western  Paradise  at  last. 

1 The  Chinese,  in  common  with  other  Buddhists,  firmly  believe  that  each  man 
possesses  three  souls  and  seven  spirits.  Why  this  should  be  the  case  they  cannot  say. 
Even  the  priests  have  no  explanation  to  offer  of  this  curious  theory. 

JJBuddha’s  name. 

3 Two  forms  of  punishment  in  the  Buddhist  he'd. 

Tit  will  be  seen  that  the  characters  representing  these  several  possessions  are 
ranged  above  one  large,  elongated  sign.  This  character,  which  is  pronounced  Kong, 
and  corresponds  pretty  accurately  to  the  Eatin  vanks,  is  thus  shown  to  be  the  sum  of 
man’s  earthly  possessions  and  attainments;, remin.driig;  one  strongly  of  the  words  of 
fhe  preacher— “All  is  vanity.”  1 


5 

[The  Buddhist  priest,  addressing  the  skeleton,  who  is  here  drawn 
to  illustrate  and  enforce  his  discourse,  proceeds: — ] 

How  can  you,  sir,  carry  all  things  away  with  you? 

A few  layers  of  yellow  earth  cover  all  your  glory. 

(L.)  A silver  coffin  worth  108,000  ounces  of  pure  silver  (about 
^27,000), 

This  man  took  pains  to  devise  an  ingenious  device,  but  all  is 
VAIN. 

[The  large  white  character  on  the  coffin-end  will  be  recognized  as 
identical  with  the  elongated  under  the  list  of  houses,  gold  and  silver, 
etc.,  below.  In  China  it  is  customary  to  place  some  striking  and 
significant  device,  generally  in  the  form  of  a scarlet  character,  at  one 
end  of  the  thick  coffins  of  the  dead.] 

(M.)  To  travel  east,  west,  north,  south,  to  see  all  life  is  vain; 

Heaven  is  vain,  earth  is  vain,  including  also  mysterious  man. 
The  sun  is  vain,  the  moon  is  vain. 

They  come  and  go,  for  what  purpose? 

Fields  are  vain,  lands  are  vain,  how  suddenly  they  change 
owners! 

Gold  is  vain,  silver  is  vain,  after  death  how  much  is  there  in 
the  hand? 

Wives  are  vain,  children  are  vain. 

They  do  not  meet  again  on  the  way  to  Hades. 

In  the  Tatsang  classic  vanity  is  lust, 

In  the  Panrohsin  classic  lust  is  vanity. 

He  thet  travels  from  east  to  west  is  like  a beautiful  bee; 

After  he  has  made  honey  from  flowers  with  all  his  labor,  all  is 
vain. 

After  midnight  you  hear  the  drum  beat  the  third  watch, 

You  turn  over,  and  before  you  know  where  you  are  you  hear 
the  bell  striking  the  fifth  watch. 5 
To  carefully  think  it  over  from  the  start,  it  is  like  a dream. 

If  you  do  not  believe,  look  at  the  peach  and  apricot  trees, 

How  long  after  the  flowers  open  are  they  red?6 
If  you  regard  prince  and  minister,  after  death  they  revert  to 
the  soil, 

Their  bodies  go  to  the  earth,  their  breath  to  the  winds, 

Within  the  covering  of  yellow  earth  there  is  nothing  but  a 
mass  of  corruption;  they  pass  away  no  better  than  pigs  or 
dogs. 

Why  did  they  not  at  the  beginning  inquire  of  the  Buddhist 
priest  Che? 

There  is  one  life  and  not  two  deaths; 

Don’t  brag  then  before  others  of  your  cleverness. 

A man  during  life  owns  vast  tracts  of  land,7. 

After  death  he  can  only  have  three  paces  of  earth. 8 


3 Daylight. 

3i.  e.  They  drop  off  and  perish, 


■<%iterally,  15,000  square  acres. 

8 Literally,  8 feet  by  12;  enough  to  bury  him. 


6 


To  think  it  over  carefully  after  death,  nothing  would  be  taken 
away; 

The  Buddhist  priest  Che  has  with  his  own  hand  written  to  you. 

[At  this  point  it  will  be  seen  that  the  winding  convolutions  of  the 
priest’s  robe  have  reached  the  centre  of  his  body.  Here,  as  already 
mentioned,  the  heart  is  by  the  Chinese  supposed  to  be  located,  and  a 
good  deal  of  the  “ingenuity”  referred  to  in  the  title  is  contained  in  the 
fact  that  at  this  point  the  characters  refer  to  the  heart.  Hence  the 
exhortation  to  “laugh  loudly.”  To  Western  minds,  the  sudden  intro- 
duction of  three  wholly  disconnected  lines  breaking  in  upon  the  theme 
of  the  discourse  is  not  sufficiently  ingenious  to  dispense  with  explana- 
tion.] 

The  word  heart: — loudly  laugh! 

Not  much  time  need  be  employed  in  writing  it, 

It  has  one  curve  like  the  moon  and  three  dots  all  awry. 

The  feathered  tribe  and  beasts  will  also  become  Buddhas. 1 
If  you  only  repeat  Buddha’s  name  you  will  go  to  the  kingdom 
that  produces  extreme  felicity. 

[At  the  point  N.  a layman  is  supposed  to  break  in  and  remark:] 

(N.)  “I  see  other  men  die, 

My  heart  is  nervous  and  excited, 2 
Not  anxious  about  other  men, 

But  because  my  turn  will  come.” 

[The  literal  rendering  of  this  line  is,  “hook,  look,  the  wheel 
comes  to  me!”  The  wheel  of  life,  the  inexorable  turning  of  fate  that 
now  raises  one  man  and  then  another,  alternately  exalting  the  beggar 
and  debasing  the  prince,  plays  a large  part  in  the  Buddhistic  conception 
of  all  things.  It  is  referred  to  in  lines  6 and  7 under  the  heading  E. 
The  idea  of  transmigration  is  connected  with  this  doctrine.] 

P.  If  you  wish  to  escape  the  ills  of  life  and  death, 

At  once  repeat  Buddha’s  name. 

If  in  life  you  repeat  it  often 
Hereafter  you  shall  reap  extreme  joy. 

R.  Pikiu , Pikiuni , Yiuposeh,  Yiupoi. 3 

Virtuous  men,  virtuous  women,  and  others  who  repeat  Buddha’s 
name 

Shall  together  go  to  the  Western  Paradise. 

S.  On  seeing  this  tract  reflect,  reflect. 

T.  Kaolaishan , disciple  of  Buddha,  native  of  Chihli,  has  had  this 

engraved  and  given  away  as  an  act  of  merit.  The  block  he 
retains  in  his  own  keeping. 

X.  Respect  printed  paper. 


1 Absorption  into  Nervana  is  here  referred  to,  and  not  an  indefinite  multiplication 
of  inferior  Buddhas. 

2 literally,  like  a hot  fire- 

3A  Buddhist  charm  probably  derived  from  Indian  nan|es.  The  words  have  no 
significance  whatever,  being-  merely  repeated  as  a kind  of  njpgic. 


7 


Z.  On  repeating  Buddha’s  name  300  times  fill  up  one  of  the 
empty  circles  with  a red  pencil.  When  all  are  filled  up 
the  total  will  be  180,000. 

And  this  is  the  last  word. 

In  face  of  doubt  and  famine,  death  staring  his  people  in  the  face, 
the  Buddhist  priest  Che  propounds  his  scheme  of  salvation.  The 
people  are  perishing  hopelessly.  In  their  extremity  Buddhism  shows 
them  the  way  to  the  Western  Paradise.  To  whom  must  they  fly  for  aid? 
What  must  they  do?  Perform  meritorious  actions,  and  “on  repeating 
Buddha’s  name  300  times  fill  up  one  of  the  empty  circles  with  a red 
pencil.” 

And  then  begin  again.  “ O-mi-to-fu ” 300  times  and  a red  pencil- 
mark;  300  more  times,  another  pencil-mark;  300  more,  another.  And 
so  forth. 

When  180,000  repetitions  of  Buddha’s  name  have  been  faithfully 
pronounced  with  earnest  lips  by  the  distressed  soul,  the  tract  is  full. 
But  the  drought  still  continues.  What  now?  Begin  again.  A new 
tract;  the  same  red  pencil;  precisely  the  same  process! — 300  repetitions 
and  a dot. 

But  the  children  are  dying!  Repeat  Buddha’s  name.  The  town  is 
desolate?  His  name  cannot  have  been  pronounced  a sufficient  number 
of  times.  Reiterate  it  yet  again.  “ O-mi-to-fu ! O-mi-to-fu!  O-mi-to-fu!" 

But  is  there  no  end? 

None.  Absolutely  none. 

And  so  the  devotee  goes  on,  for  the  way  to  the  Western  Paradise  is 
long.  In  the  chill  of  the  black  midnight  and  in  the  grey  dawn  he 
rises  to  repeat  Buddha’s  name,  “ O-mi-to-fu , O-mi-to-fu,  O-mi-to-fu ,” 
he  mutters,  unendingly,  in  a monotonous,  singsong  undertone.  At  his 
work  he  reiterates  it;  at  his  dressing;  when  he  lies  awake  at  night;  in 
the  street,  in  the  field,  in  the  temple,  in  the  chamber  of  death, — 
“ O-mi-tofu ! O-mi-to-fu!  O-mi-to-fu."  And  there  is  none  to  answer, 
nor  any  even  to  hear.  Can  we  realize  the  meaning  of  this? 

Listen  to  it!  Listen  to  that  cry,  going  up  from  thousands  of 
trembling  lips,  aye,  from  millions  of  suffering  hearts,  daily,  hourly, 
momentarily;  a monotonous,  unceasing  repetition — “Buddha,  Buddha, 
Buddha,  Buddha,  Buddha,  Buddha,  Buddha,”  floating  out  into  the 
mute,  unheeding  void! 

And  remember  that  Jesus  hears  it  always:  that  He  died  in  response 
to  its  unspoken  pain  and  sorrow.  Remember  that,  having  committed 
to  us  its  deep,  all-satisfying  reply,  He  says  to  us  to-day,  “Go  ye  into  all 
the  world  and  preach  THE  GOSPEL  to  every  creature.” 


The  last  page  shows  O-mi-to-fu  three  hundred  times.  Please  read 
it  and  then  remember  that  you  are  entitled  to  only  one  dot  in  the 
endless  appeal  to  Buddha  for  salvation. 

\ 


These  leaflets  can  be  had 
Address,  W.  E).  B.,  332  Take 


cents  each,  10  for  25  cents,  or  $1.50  per  hundred 
Oak  Park,  111. 


8 


O-mi-to-fu, 
O-mi-to-fu, 
O-mi-to-fu, 
O-mi-to-fu, 
O-mi-to-fu, 
O-mi-to-fu, 
O-mi-to-fu, 
O-mi-to-fu, 
O-mi-to-fu, 
O-mi-to-fu, 
O-mi-to-fu, 
O-mi-to-fu, 
O-mi-to-fu, 
O-mi-to-fu, 
O-mi-to-fu, 
O-mi-to-fu, 
O-mi-to-fu, 
O-mi-to-fu, 
O-mi-to-fu, 
O-mi-to-fu, 
O-mi-to-fu, 
O-mi-to-fu, 
O-mi-to-fu, 
O-mi-to-fu, 
O-mi-to-fu, 
O-mi-to-fu, 
O-mi-to-fu, 
O-mi-to-fu, 
O-mi-to-fu, 
O-mi-to-fu, 
O-mi-to-fu, 
O-mi-to-fu, 
O-mi-to-fu , 
O-mi-to-fu, 
O-mi-to-fu, 
O-mi-to-fu, 
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O-mi 

-to-fu, 

O-m 

-tofu, 

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-to-fll. 

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to-fu 

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to-fu 

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to-fu, 

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to-fu, 

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to-fu, 

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to-fu 

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to-fu. 

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c\-mi-to-fu, 
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O-mil  i, 
O-mi 


O-mi-to-fu, 
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O-mi-to-fu, 
O-mi-to-fu , 
O-mi-to-fu, 
O-mi-to-fu. 


